


La Isla Bonita

by MetallicSharpie



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2018-10-14 17:46:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10541430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetallicSharpie/pseuds/MetallicSharpie
Summary: 10 years ago, Rin shipwrecked on an uncharted island and met a beautiful, but injured, stoic man who she cared for despite his protests. But one day, she awoke back in the real world with no family and no silver-haired god. When her friends proposed a trip to a familiar sea, she quickly agreed. Any chance to meet him again was one worth taking.





	1. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are gonna go from 0-100 in this story in terms of sexual content. I don't think I was clear enough the first time. lol.

 

Original Publish Date: 4/4/2017  
Minor Fixes: 4/22/2018

~:~:~

The blazing tropical sun baked through her eyelids, pulling her to consciousness. She couldn't breathe. Abruptly, the woman coughed out the sea water burning her lungs as she pulled herself up to her forearms. Once able to take a few steady breaths, she took in her surroundings. On a white, sandy beach with lush, green plants and palm trees right after the shore, rising to a small mountain that peaked in the middle of the island. There she saw it—the statue of a large dog that stood on its four legs, chest puffed with pride but expression calm, and covered in a suit of armor reminiscent of a samurai.

It was here that she died and lived again.

Rin rose on unsteady legs, scanning the beach for anything... The boat, her friends, but there was evidence of neither. This was not how she wanted to come back here. Tears began to prickle the corner of her eyes, she didn't want to lose anyone else. They must be fine,  _they had to be fine_. She couldn't have been the only one to survive the storm, not again.

Her sundress was torn across her thighs and neckline, leaving her in a less-than-appropriate state of dress. Not there was anyone around to see her. She moved forward, her first intention to get out from under the stinging rays of light. How long had she been out? There was no real way to know. March 29th, 2017. That was the last day she knew. She won't forget it.

She sighed in relief when standing under a large cluster of palms, enjoying the shade and cool sea breeze on her hot skin. Her eyes skimmed the horizon with a sliver of hope, but the sea was empty. Only rolling waves of white and blue that were clear once they hit the shore. Her gaze traveled up the palm and spotted bundles of brown coconuts. It reminded her of her chapped lips, dry mouth, and her rumbling stomach. Without hesitation, she began climbing the crooked tree and it didn't take her long to shake out three of the hairy fruits, letting them drop to the ground.

Now the task of opening them... Luckily, she noticed the right side of the beach begins to turn rocky. She might be able to figure something out there. With her arms full and carefully watching the ground for her bare feet, she found a spot where she could settle the coconuts and drop a rather, large heavy rock on them to smash them open. Rin never tried this before... but she sincerely hoped that all those survival videos she re-watched in the couple of weeks before sailing had some truth to them.

She grinned when a couple of drops had cracked the fibrous shell of the fruit enough for her to start ripping it out and revealing the small round treasure inside. Finding a rock with a sharp edge, she slammed the coconut down and gasped when it cut through, quickly bringing it up to her mouth to drink the water escaping. Drinking the water in two and leaving one intact for later, she gathered the shells to use for tinder when night falls and decided to eat the fruit's meat back in the shade.

Rin contemplated her next actions. She needed a source of fresh water, and she knew there some further inland but had no idea where. She needed better clothing or some kind of coverage from the sun. Her back was already burned when she was knocked out on the sand. She needed a shelter, something to protect her from the elements and to sleep in... And she needed a weapon. She would not be attacked by the wildlife again with no means to fight. After all, there was no guarantee that her previous savior was still around.

The beautiful, young man with eyes of polished gold. It had been a decade since she last laid eyes on him...

With a burst of determination, she fashioned a spear out of a sharp rock, rope made from coconut fiber, and a sturdy branch before making her way further into the island, listening for any sounds of running water or wildlife. That was when she noticed how eerily quiet it was... No sounds of insects, birds, not even the wind between the trees. Something was wrong.

Would it be wiser to continue or go back? She needed water. It was not an option, it couldn't wait. Without it, she would die within days. She could only hope that whatever hushed the island was not out for her.

How long had she been walking, watching her every step to not crunch dead leaves or snap a twig? She always had a bad perception of time, it could have been 5 minutes or an hour and it would have felt the same to her. Then the sound of trickling water hit her senses and she broke into an excited run, throwing caution to the wind. She pushed aside the last bit of wide leaves to reveal a large open area, complete with a small waterfall falling into a moderate-sized lake... and a man standing on its edge with his back to her, shirtless, and holding a bundle of wet cloth in his hands.

Rin examined the male closely, was this her savior from all those years before? His hair was almost the same shade of shimmering silver but tied up in a blue ribbon, high on his head. His skin seemed more tanned than what she remembered and she couldn't help but admire the defined muscles rolling down his back-

"It is rude to stare, you know." She gasped in shock at the deep voice as she jumped back into the cover of the bushes. The man turned completely, a polite smile on his face. "You can come out, I don't bite." His eyes... his eyes were so similar to the man from her past but there was one significant difference. Though both shared that same deep, golden shade, this man's eyes were lively, vibrant as the sun—not the icy fire that began haunting her dreams a few years ago. She stepped into the clearing, her make-shift weapon gripped tightly. "We have not had a visitor in decades... Certainly not one as beautiful as you."

Rin felt her cheeks flush from the compliment... and from the clear view she had of the man's sculpted abdominals, "M-my name is Rin..."

"I am Lord Touga, I reign over this side of the island." He gave her a peculiar look and gestured her to come closer. Reluctantly, she obeyed until she was just within arm's reach. The man let out a curious noise and grabbed her chin gently to pull her face up as he examined her eyes. He had claws, just like him. And striped tattoos on his cheeks, though no moon... "Your eyes... You have been here before."

"Yes." She responded, a wave of relief crashing over her that nearly brought her to tears. How many times... How many times had she told the story of what happened to her and no one believed? The day she woke up back on a beach next to modern civilization, her normally common brown eyes had a wave of gold splitting the iris like the horizon. The only thing she had that proved her experience wasn't a fantasy or a delusion brought by the shock of her parent's death.

"I don't recall ever seeing you before..." Touga let her face go, "How long has been since you last were here?"

"About 10 years, sir..."

"Hmm..." He rubbed his chin, "How strange... as I am the only one with the power to send anyone back. Tell me, how did you leave the island?"

"I don't... I don't know, I'm sorry. One day I woke and... I was back. The man I was with... He looked like you. I never got his name..."

Touga raised a bushy brow, "My youngest son, maybe? I hadn't realized he had grown in power so much..." The man gave her a quick look over, "Most people here prefer to wear as little as possible due to the environment but I have a feeling you might have some reservations about that..." Remembering her state of dress, Rin crossed her arms over her exposed chest, nodding in agreement. The man gave a soft chuckle, "Come with me. We'll get you some clothes, some fresh water, maybe some food too? Then I will lead you to my son. We have quite a bit to talk about."

And she followed the tall man through the tropical forest as he asked about her life outside. There was nothing interesting to say. She first explained how she got to the island the first time... A quiet family vacation out on the sea as her father liked when a raging storm formed in seconds, and tore the impressive yacht to nothing but pieces of wood and fiberglass. Rin didn't know what happened from there, only that she woke on the rough side of the beach, bruised and scratched from the rocks and coral, with no indication of a boat crash around her, much like today.

"The way opened, and let you in." Touga muttered mysteriously, "Continue."

"I was alone for days..." And being a sheltered 10-year-old from a well-off family, too young and stupid for survival tactics. She was lucky to find a lake that wasn't tainted as she drank without boiling the water, lucky to find a banana tree and not get bitten by spiders that she never checked for, lucky to find an empty cave that she never went deep enough in to ensure its safety... Her chatter was interrupted as a path was revealed to her, leading into an ancient city bustling with young, gorgeous people of various shades of bronze skin, hair either in silver, blonde, or chestnut, eyes of gold, blue, and black... that looked at her as she watched them.

"This is Carteia." Lord Touga announced, "And you are welcome here for as long as you like."

"Lord Touga! How have you been this fine day?" A merchant in a clothing store beckoned them over. The two exchanged pleasantries as her gaze wandered to the clothing hanging from stall: cropped tops, scrawls, and flowing skirts of white, blue, purple and green, some decorated with sea creatures and waves. The man joked, "And who is this? Almost as fair as the former Lady Izayoi! Have you pulled another out of the sea? How do you keep doing this?"

"I did nothing. It seems the gods had deemed us worthy to be in the presence of her beauty." Did they all talk like this? She was nothing special in terms of appearance. Black hair, brown eyes, lightly-tanned skin, and a build leaning towards more athletic than average due to her constant exploring nature—always hiking, always climbing. All in all, pretty average, especially when put against any person in this crowd... "And she is in need of clothing as you can see. Do you have something that would complement her?"

"Of course, of course—oh, your back is burned! Lady Izayoi had the same problem when in the sun too long. I believe Katsumi has some of that healing gel in stock across the way?" Lord Touga left with a promise to return quickly as the merchant began to pull an orchid-colored skirt decorated with sea turtles, a backless, cropped halter-style top of the same color, a simple pair of sandals, a scrawl to protect her from the sun, a beaded bracelet, a matching neck-

"I'm sorry, this is all too much." Rin interrupted the man as he continued piling on items in her arms. "The clothing is all I need, you don't have to worry yourself about anything else." And that she desperately wanted to change. There wasn't an eye within 20 feet of her that wasn't on her. Some with spiteful lust, others just curious—but all wary and distrusting.

"Ah, alright, alright. You can change right here in the back of stall—oh and there is the Lord with the gel! You should put it on before changing." She couldn't reach every inch of her back, and Lord Touga seemed to not mind helping her at all. Rin moaned when the cool substance touched her sunburned skin, letting her chin fall to her chest as his hands massaged her back. He was  _very_  good at it.

"That should do it." Rin didn't notice the huskiness in his voice and went on to change privately.

Lord Touga, she concluded, was pretty nice for a leader of isolated people. He got her a skewer of smoked boar that was quite possibly the best-roasted meat she ever tore her teeth into—and when she mentioned she would love to explore the island, he said she should not go alone... but then got her: a canteen with a built-in filter, another set of clothes in a different style, a bikini (he seemed to reject the idea of a less-revealing and more practical suit), a first-aid kit with two antidotes of the most common poison encountered, a sharp dagger, and a heavy-duty backpack to put it all in. She didn't understand his kindness and asked him why.

"These things are of no consequence for me to provide to you, but could save your own life... Why would I not provide them?" He then smiled, "That aside, if you caught the attention of Inuyasha enough for him to risk the ritual of sending you back, then you are more than worth it."

Inuyasha? Was that his name?

They climbed the steep steps up the large fortress-like mansion that overlooked the city, and Rin felt nervousness creeping into her mind. Would he remember her? Would he be angry that she returned? It was not as if she meant to return honestly, she couldn't command the sky or sea. She just didn't protest joining her friends, knowing which direction they were heading.

Her friends...

"Lord Touga?"

"Hmm?"

"I was... I was in a boat that belonged to a couple a few years older than me... Sango and Miroku. I had a friend with me too, about my age, her name was Kagome... Have... Have you seen anyone else?"

The man shook his head, "No, I haven't but don't lose faith. The island is vast and when the way opens, the storm is fierce, but as you know, not always fatal. If my men or I find any sign of your friends, you will be the first to know."

Rin hoped they found something. Anything.

When they entered the mansion, every passing servant bowed deeply in greeting to the tall man who nodded and smiled at each one. Her savior had never smiled and it felt strange to see his father, with a familiar face, do so. How would he look if he smiled?

"Inuyasha! Come here, my son!" Rin blinked at the shout, thinking they were going to go to a private room... No, he called his son right in the middle of the entrance.

"Ugh! What do you want!?" She heard a man yell. That wasn't him. His voice was something she only heard 3,  _maybe_  4 times in reality, but she heard it enough in her dreams. He didn't speak like that.

"Come down." Lord Touga repeated - this time the mirth was gone from his voice... he almost sounded like him, enough to make her body tremble involuntarily. She ignored the glance he gave her way, noticing someone descending the grand set of stairs to the side. It certainly wasn't her savior. This man was notably younger, his hair was slightly duller gray and untamed, his eyes were large and filled with emotions (mostly annoyance at the moment), and he had...

Dog ears?

"Who the hell is this?" The young man asked rather rudely, which his father did not like one bit.

" _Inuyasha_ , watch your language." Lord Touga warned, "Now, tell me, why did you keep sending this girl back a secret?" She didn't really listen to them, her eyes glued to the ears sitting on top of the boy's fluffy hair, fascinated by every twitch that seemed to mimic the emotion on his face. Why did he have dog ears? In fact, why did everyone in the town seem timeless, all stuck in the ages of their prime or younger? She didn't see any elders, at all.

"I have no idea who this is."

"Nonsense. Now explain yourself."

Could she touch them? Should she ask? What would it hurt? "Can I touch your ears?"

"No." That is unfortunate. She tried not to let her disappointment show, but Rin wasn't good at hiding her emotions at all. Seeing this, the young man sighed in what sounded like defeat, "Fine... But just for a second!" He also warned her to not be too rough. She carefully rubbed the base of the ear up to its tip, marveling at how silky smooth they were.

His eyes were drooping and she giggled, "Are you falling asleep?"

"NO!" He shouted, pulling away with a growl. "And like I said, I don't know who she is."

"Oh, there seems to be a misunderstanding, Lord Touga..." Rin started, wanting to clear the air before the men got further agitated, "This isn't the right man... The one who helped me... His hair was longer, he was a bit older and..." Her fingertips brushed against her cheek, "He had markings on his face like yours... but with a moon between his bangs."

The life in the mansion froze at her words, the two men looked at her in shock for a minute before she was being dragged into a private room. Did she say something wrong?

"Are you sure that is who returned you?"

"Of course, I wouldn't forget him. Without him... I would have been dead. I owe him my life."

The young dog-eared man barked with laughter, "Yeah right. No way Sesshomaru saved your ass.-" Sesshomaru. She committed the name to memory. "-You must have hit your head too hard on the corals on the way down."

Rin sharply inhaled, her blood beginning to boil at Inuyasha's statement. She spent 10 years...  _10 years_  with not a single soul believing her. She'd be damned if she would let someone brush her aside  _in the very place_  her experience occurred in, "I know very well who brought me back to life and it sure wasn't such a loud, rude, immature boy like you."

"And I'm telling you are fucking craz—"

" _Inuyasha_. Leave. I will talk to you later."

"But-"

" _I will not_ _repeat myself_."

The last warning was enough and two were now alone in what appeared to be a study. Lord Touga asked her to finish the story of her first trip here, there wasn't too much left to say. She found a beautiful man, bleeding profusely as he rested against a tree. He wouldn't wake up, so she doused his head in water - Lord Touga snorted - and he sat up snarling at her, trying to scare her off but it didn't. He didn't seem to care about the blood but she did, it worried her. And she brought him food of different kinds, he ate nothing. She spent days with him as she had no one else, and he never explicitly sent her away. On one trip back to her cave, wolves had decided to move in during her short absence.

And she ran to him but... She never made it. The wolves jumped on her back, bit into her neck and chewed her limbs to the bone until her mind entered a numb state of nothingness.

Next thing she knew, he was there, watching her carefully as she stood back up... on full, flawless legs. He didn't say anything at all. He just turned and walked away... and she followed, a bit unsure... but he still said nothing. She took it as an okay. "I stayed following him around for a day or two more... then one morning, when I woke up, I was on a beach in Greece, far from Japan."

Lord Touga nodded, "Hmm..." The older man seemed to deep in thought and she waited until he spoke again. "That is interesting. Very, how do you say,... out of character for Sesshomaru. You see, while I cannot provide details on how to send someone back, I can say it is an extremely taxing process. It would have left him weak for days after. It is quite impressive he was able to accomplish such a task." The Lord chuckled, "I'm almost a bit hurt he did not try to come and boast to me about it."

"Is... Is he here?" She tried not to sound too excited.

The man shook his head, "No. My eldest has been banished from my lands for about 40 years now."

"Oh..." Rin frowned, momentarily trying to calculate the age of both her savior and the man in front of her and realized  _none_  of that made sense. She put those thoughts aside for now. "May I ask why?"

"Yes, it's quite important... My son killed a second clan member—family member, a distant cousin. Now, the boy  _did_  disrespect my son terribly. Had they fought, I would not have blamed him, but  _kill?_  Again? No. That was unacceptable. My son, despite my best efforts, does not understand things like family, compassion, love. I cannot have a packmate around that thinks killing clan members is welcomed, even if he is my own boy."

He amended, " _Especially_ because he is my boy. The clan cannot have a leader like that." He sighed, "Then I banished him until he could prove himself worthy of returning. He probably believes that means until he is more powerful than me but I don't doubt for a moment that my son can surpass me in strength. It is the coldness in his heart that I am considered with."

"You are a lovely lady, Rin, and I fear that returning to him might not be in your best interest. I don't know my son's reasons for doing what he did, but I have no reason to believe it was selfless. Since he was a boy, he has always been one for studying, training, working—to make himself stronger, faster, better in any way. Never made time for friends, hobbies outside of training, or even the occasional romp, he believed those things were a waste. Perhaps reviving you was a test of Tenseiga's ability... and sending you back was a test of strength, if anything. I know that might not be what you wish to hear..." It didn't matter to her what he thought, though she didn't voice this. She wanted to see him. "But it is the truth. My son roams in lands that are not mine and I must stay and care for my own, I cannot take you to him. It is dangerous where he is, more so for an outsider. If he abandons you or simply doesn't wish to protect you even in his company, you will not last very long there."

"Can you point me towards him?" Rin asked, not even acknowledging the older man's warnings.

The Lord scoffed in disbelief, "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Deathly so." She replied with no hint of hesitation. Rin won't allow anyone to stop her now. Not when she was so close, closer than she had ever been in the past decade.

"I can see you will not be swayed..." He smiled at her, something about it seemed... calculating. She briefly wondered what the man was thinking. "Very well. I will get you a few more supplies to make your trip a bit more bearable and I will hear no protest from you about purchasing these items for you." The Lord ordered as he walked back out the mansion with her trailing behind, "Should things not work out as you plan, then you are welcome here. Remember that."

It didn't take long to gather up a sleeping bag, soap, dried meat, a fire starter and other little items here and there. He tried to convince her to stay the night and leave in the morning, but she refused. Rin had a feeling he would spend the night trying to deter her from leaving and, frankly, she didn't want to deal with it. She was grateful for his assistance, and she let him know, not wanting to seem otherwise. "Keep heading east... Once you hit the river, follow it upstream until you reach a great waterfall. That is the last known location of my son... Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. Thank you!" And she ran off before the Lord could say another word. Rin was going to find him finally! She only hoped that meeting him would officially silence the clenching call in her heart that tormented her during the day and those new vivid dreams that burned her body at night.

~:~:~

He felt the island's center tremble beneath his boots and sky darken with a rumble off in the distance. The way opened.

That was days ago and Sesshomaru was left a bit curious if anything had come through. The last time the way opened was nearly ten years ago, after his battle with Ryūkotsusei's son, Raiden, ended in a draw and a little human girl found him and pitied him. She all but demanded he ate something despite how much she was clearly starving, she gave him the little fresh water she was able to procure during the dry spell that damned those months and even made him a little leaned roof so the sun did not bear down on his injured body.

All without saying a word to him.

He didn't know if she a mute by shock or birth or choice, and he didn't really care. By the second day, he demanded she eat what she brought for him instead, that he needed nothing from her. He was tired of watching how sickly the young girl was. It was disgusting. But she smiled, and laughed at his request, why? He did not know, but, in the end, she finally ate and drank regularly.

By the third day, his instinct was entertaining the idea of keeping the girl. His beast did not find her camellia scent revolting despite being marred by her mortality, the smell reminded him of his true homeland, Japan. Her large chocolate eyes were already so trusting when she looked at him, and so in awe of him. He didn't know what caused her trust or her wonder. He had done nothing for her. He was debilitated, still in blood-soaked clothing, not yet able to walk for more than a few steps before he lost his breath. There was nothing impressive or inspiring about his current weak state.

By the morning of the fifth day with the majority of strength returned, he decided he would send her back, much to his beast's protest. His father stripped him of his faithful servant and dragon steed, the only two beings that he accepted as companions. He is an inuyoukai, not meant to travel alone for so long.

How long had it been already? 30 years... But Sesshomaru refused to sate whatever misguided pack instinct he was developing for her, he was not so desperate to take in an outsider human girl.

He would send her back home, away from him.

She couldn't taunt him with her scent or her laugh or her smile on the other side.

By noon of the sixth day, he had gathered everything he needed for the ritual but the girl never returned from foraging. That was when he caught the sharp metallic tang smell of blood on the wind, her blood, and wolves. His beast pushed him to hurry, but he refused, taking the same strides he would as if walking to bathe. He found her dead, torn apart by the wild wolves that belonged to the head of the Northern Wolf Tribe.

How many beings had he cut down in his lifetime? Surely enough to have an army in hell waiting for him. He lived up to his namesake to the tee, much to his father's disappointment. Then why did the sight of the girl chewed up in a pool of her blood disturb him so? How many did he leave others in the same exact state after fighting in his own canine form? His hand gripped Tenseiga, the only thing his father left him for his exile before he knew what he was doing.

It called to him. It willed him to save her soul from hell.

And he heeded the call.

He didn't dwell on what felt like relief wash over him when her eyes opened, full of life as they previously were, staring at him in confusion and amazement. Sesshomaru turned away, and as he suspected, the girl followed. Tenseiga had compelled him to save a human life, an outsider.

This would not do. This was not him.

Tonight he would send her back.

Lost in his memories, he believed it was a trick of his mind when the scent of river water and camellias wafted into his senses until the wind blew harder once more, slathering the smell over him. Impossible. It couldn't be. He sent her back home, or at least, back to the outside world. Nobody his father sent away was able to return unless they took a beacon with them, and he certainly did not provide her one. He switched directions, following his nose to the flowery scent. He was not in a rush, convinced it was nothing... until he smelt the campfire and heard a girl humming softly.

The human immediately stood and turned to face him, as if she sensed his presence. No, this was not the girl. It couldn't possibly be. She wore clothing that he recognized from his father's lands and even caught a whiff of his scent on her. The perverted, old dog would dress her in something so... tight and revealing, he thought as his gaze unconscionably drifted to her cleavage, down her exposed flat stomach, and over her wide hips wrapped tightly in her skirt.

When his eyes returned to her's, she had a light pink flush across her cheeks and she took a few unsure steps forward. Her scent was unmistakable. The girl from the past had very much turned into a woman. He had forgotten how quickly humans aged in comparison to his own kind. "S... Sesshomaru?" So she speaks now.

"What are you doing here?" He didn't hold back the venom in his tone.  _He sent her back_. The ritual left him drained for  _days_. Was the woman so inconsiderate of the sacrifice that he, a powerful daiyoukai, made for her mortal hide that she would trap herself back on the forsaken island? " _Why_ are you here?"

"I don't know. I didn't mean... I didn't mean to return." The woman started, bowing her head. "The sea just... brought me back." Her voice quiet, soft-spoken, pleasant to his sensitive ears. "It kept calling me..." Her brows furrowed as she met his stare, the evident mark of a traitor or voyager (depending who you asked) splitting the color of her gaze. "I started seeing you... every night for the past 3 years." The woman stepped closer, those sparkling eyes already had him snared. "It was torture. When my friends said they were planning a trip to the sea... I said yes.  _I had to_. If there was any chance that I could see you again..."

She was within arm's reach now, and she smiled at him. An honest smile that crinkled the corners of her cocoa eyes, and brightened her features, like before.

No, not like before. She was a girl then. Now... "I'm so happy to finally meet you again. If you will allow it, I wish to travel with you again..." Her last sentence was a whisper, her eagerness to be by his side stirred a dormant desire deep within him, he felt his beast smirking at the woman as if already plotting the things he could do with her.

It was nauseating. "No."

The woman looked crestfallen for a split second, but her smile returned again at full force, "Okay."

What?

"I'll just follow you from a distance. I won't bother you."

_What?_

"You will return to my father's land." She just shook her head. " _I will not repeat myself._ " He warned, disturbed by the woman's defiance as if she hadn't the slightest idea who she was speaking to. Surely, his father had warned her before she went on this foolish endeavor of... of god knows what. What in the world did she want with him? What was she here to accomplish?

No, he didn't care.

And if she wouldn't leave peacefully of her own volition, then he would convince her.

There was a spark of fire in her eyes, a challenge his beast was all too raring to meet. "You speak like your father... I also told him no."

The woman cried in pain when her back hit the bark of a rubber tree, her soft hands encircled his striped wrist as his fingers encompassed her throat. "You will not defy this Sesshomaru, woman."

The tips of claws pierced just the top layer of her skin and there was fear in her eyes, in her scent. Good. That was the appropriate response. None of th—his nose twitched when another smell mixed in, a musky aroma of—He let go the woman abruptly in shock, and she fell to a graceless heap on the forest floor with her hand around her neck while she took a few deep breaths to fill her starving lungs. Her doe eyes fluttered, and she looked up at him through her thick lashes as she pressed her thighs together. He hadn't imagined it. The woman was aroused... by him?

"Rin." He watched her pink tongue dart out and lick her lips, "My name is Rin."

His eyes narrowed, incredibly suspicious about this human, this... Rin. It was uncommon that a woman looked at him that way, or...  _reacted_  that way toward him. It was either fear of his strength coupled with rumors of his violent nature, disinterest towards his lack of humor and emotion, or extreme jealousy due to his unfortunate beauty. And on the rare occasion, a female took interest in him physically, it was disingenuous. They only wished to sink their dirty claws into his wealth, his title, his family and would-be lands. All things he longer had for nearly the past half-century.

Perhaps the only good that came out of the banishment, those horrid women (who also reminded him too much of his mother) no longer held any interest in him and he was far from those moronic men who believed they could take him as their 'pretty' bitch.

"Rin." It was short and quick to say. The woman blinked up at him before rising to her feet, standing at his attention. "Get your things." She grinned at him and nodded before she hurriedly began to gather her items.

He was just curious about her. That's all.

He will keep her around for a few days... Then he'll leave her.

Whether he'd dump her at the border of his father's lands or the middle of disputed territory was up to how she behaved, he certainly wouldn't tolerate any more blatant disrespect from the outsider.

If only he had known how much could transpire in those few days, he would have never taken her with him.

**End of Chapter 1**


	2. Challenge

Original Publish Date: 5/3/2017  
Minor Edits: 4/22/2018

~:~:~

He hadn't changed much over the years, and her dreams didn't distort her image of him. The beautiful man was still as impassive and silent as he was nearly a decade ago. In fact, he almost looked exactly the same.  _Almost._  There was something different in his eyes she couldn't quite place.

Maybe loneliness? Circling an island aimlessly alone for 40 years couldn't be good for one's health.

Or was he still angry at her for either back-talking or returning? She was certainly confused in that regard as the man suddenly did a complete 180 on his decision to travel with her in a matter of seconds. Not that she was complaining...

 _No, he probably vented it all out when he slammed me against the tree_ , she thought with a tinge of annoyance as her fingertips subconsciously brushed the side of her neck. She wasn't expecting the speed or force behind his hand, and she briefly thought he was going to kill her, but her mind could only notice how close he was and how different his face looked when finally showing some speck of emotion.

She wondered how many more expressions she could wrangle out of the stoic man, wanting to see them all.

Rin sighed and shook her head of those thoughts, making sure to stay a respectable distance as she followed him to nowhere, at least nowhere that she knew of. And that was fine with her, wandering without a clear destination was, in a sense, what she was doing back in Japan.

Just going through the motions of school, work, eat, sleep, having long given up on trying to find the elusive island by the time she finished high school despite her persistent dreams. She had very few friends throughout her life, mostly due to how long it took for her to find her voice back and the major complication of being in a foreign country with no family when she landed in Greece of all places.

There was also this part of her shaken, young mind that didn't want to return home, for what? For who? Her only family was her parents, her older brother died years ago in a car accident, the family members from her mother's side hated her... They didn't like that her mother, a renowned theoretical physicist, fell in love with the man who ran the coffee shop she frequented during her grad days when he was just a barista.

It was silly but they believed her mother was far too smart for him, that he lacked ambition and hundreds of other assumptions they made of a man they never met... that they never got to meet. Her being the result of their relationship, meant their irrational hatred was thrown at her, especially after the incident...

Her thoughts lead her to think of Kagome, Sango, and Miroku. She prayed once more for her friends, mulling the heavy thought of whether their fates, alive and trapped or lost and dead, were her own fault...

"What is it?" His voice brought her back to reality, his back still towards her. Was her grief so obvious? He wasn't even looking at her.

"I was just remembering... the friends I came with this time. I hope they are okay."

"Only two people may pass for each time the way opens."

What? His father never said that.

Her eyes widened at the implication, quickly closing the distance between them as she moved to walk right beside him, "Does that mean one of my parents may have survived the first time?" The possibility had occurred to her traumatized, young mind at the time, but she dismissed it as just that, childish hope, as she grew older. Her heart quickened, "What about...? If only two people can pass, what about everyone else?"

He didn't look at her when he replied, "They are stuck at sea, assuming their vessel didn't survive the storm."

No civilian ship could brave those winds. It was as if being stuck in the walls of a super hurricane. He seemed to be in a talking mood, and she was going to take full advantage. "I could never find any evidence of this island existing... only a few reports of spontaneous storms that are impossible to predict. What is this 'way opening'?"

"The storm."

Rin fumbled with the vague answer for a bit.  _Magic. It had to be magic._   _Because nothing here makes sense!_  She briefly thought how much her mother would have  _loved_ to try to figure this out. "But it disappears with the storm...? How?  _Why_?"

"A  _human_  would not understand." The sneer was obvious in his voice despite his cool face, and Rin was brought to the forefront of her questions. A flashback raced through her mind when she was a girl who dumped a whole make-shift cup of water on his face, and his eyes turned red and his throat vibrated with an animalistic snarl.

"I don't know what you mean." She responded with earnest, slumping her shoulders with a sigh and hoped he would clarify, "What are you then?"

"I am an inu-daiyoukai." He didn't flatter despite how crazy-sounding his response was.

Youkai were myths that started in Medieval times – scary tales of supernatural beings and spirits that people either use to explain what used to be misunderstood or to scare children as every culture does. Over time, the stories went from something you should fear to something that was deeply ingrained in society, something everyone knew and felt close to.

But one thing is true – They aren't real. They can't be real.

She watched strands of silver silk flutter in the tropical breeze, the length of his hair reached around his calves – it didn't escape her that he was the only one in a white traditional Japanese outfit. The inhabitants of his father's city – and his father himself – seemed to have adopted clothing that was a bit more appropriate for the climate of the island. The large fluffy thing on his shoulder seemed cumbersome.  _Isn't he hot?_  she thought. Her gaze traveled to the single sword at his side, the clawed hand hanging beside it and the peak of magenta across his wrist just outside the hem of his sleeve.

Ah, she had gotten distracted.

Maybe it wasn't so far-fetched, she thought, bringing her mind back on track. After all, she landed here, died here, came back to life here, and a storm controlled the way in and out of the island – In the end, she concluded it wasn't crazy to say an island of supernatural happenings was home to supernatural beings.

 _Inu-daiyoukai..._ It would certainly explain the more...  _carnal_  parts of her dreams with him.

That aside... Why were there no youkai in her world then? She thought, then voiced the question to the stoic man. She saw his back stiffen just a fraction - the question heavily hung in the air, unanswered.

~:~:~

Night had fallen by the time they stopped and she was thankful for the bit of dried meat and coconut she had left in her bag. They hadn't stopped once during the whole day and her legs were exhausted, but she still couldn't rest, she needed a fire as the darkness of the forest left her uneasy.

Could he see in this darkness? If his vision was impaired in any way, he didn't show it, as he made himself comfortable at the base of a large tree with winding roots. Both of his legs were bent, one slightly raised with his arm resting on it, a clawed hand dangling causally in front of him. His fluffy boa was at his back and surrounded his sides. He ordered her to make camp. His voice relieved her – it had been silent since her last question hours ago. She worried she may have stepped in something forbidden, and maybe she had, but if he was willing to speak with her then perhaps he let go.

Rin gathered the necessary wood (it hadn't rained recently so everything was thankfully dry) and was crouched on the forest floor, setting up when she felt the need to look to up from her work. He was watching her.

His form seemed to catch every small ray of moonlight that managed to escape the thick canopy of evergreens above, his shimmering mane forming a soft halo around him. The vibrant color of his golden eyes didn't flatter if anything they stood out more as if defying the darkness. The night was not dark enough to consume and hide his body. She would have thought he was an angel as she had when she was younger but she knew better now.

She knew the powerful force behind his hand, the sneer in his voice and the bitter cold in his gaze – coupled with the few twisting roots surrounding him, it gave an almost sinister feeling to the sight. Angel wasn't right – Youkai fits him far more... but it didn't negatively change her need to understand him better or how beautiful he was. No, if anything... Rin swallowed thickly, feeling a familiar heat pool at her core, it made her want to know more of him... and made him that much more desirable.

Her breath quietly hitched when his eyes narrowed with a slight tilt of his head. Something changed.  _Oh no, can he read minds?_  She thought, panic currently winning over the embarrassment,  _There were myths of youkai that could, weren't there?_

"Rin."  _Crap._ "Come here."

Reluctantly, she got to her feet and made her way to him, stopping a foot or two away from his boots. His lips pulled back into a subtle frown and she knew he wasn't satisfied with the distance. So she gathered the last of her waning courage and sat on her knees to his left side, well within arm's reach. But she didn't dare look at him this close, her eyes glued to her hands resting on her lap. She couldn't chance it. Her body would certainly convince her to do something incredibly stupid.

"Look at me."

 _Damn. It._  She cursed in her head, now clenching her hands into fists. No, she didn't have to comply to his every command. Did he even know how to ask for something instead of demanding it? With a bit of spite, she kept her gaze on the floor. The hand on her throat didn't surprise her.

"You will listen to this Sesshomaru." His claws scratched just the surface of her skin as before, the grip tightened and gave her no choice but finally to look at him. The intensity of his golden gaze stole her breath. Despite her vision already adjusting to the darkness, she could only see  _him_ , and nothing else. Her lips suddenly felt dry and she swiped her tongue over her bottom lip, his gaze watching her mouth. Rin wasn't naive, she caught him doing the same earlier.

His grip vanished when she kept his stare, but his next words, she didn't expect, "What did you dream about?"

_Ah, what?_

Rin already felt the hotness flush her face and body, thinking she must rival the color of a fire engine at this point. Of all the things he could have asked her like – where are you from? What have you been doing? How is life outside? – No, he latched on to a bit she revealed in the nervousness of finally meeting him and asked for more. If she wasn't on her knees, she would have kicked herself.

"You." Her response sounded far more confident than she felt, and she would have patted herself on the back for it... but she knew that wasn't what he was looking for. She already said she dreamt of him. He wanted  _details_. The blank stare she got in return confirmed that, waiting for her to continue. "... U-us?" Now, she sounded like a mouse. She hated it and desperately searched for the spark of confidence she had a moment ago.

It was hiding very well.

"Us?" It sounded like he was amused like he was having fun knowing how anxious and embarrassed she was. Maybe he already knew what she was dreaming, maybe  _he_  caused those dreams intentionally. The thought he could be orchestrating this whole exchange just to shame her for his entertainment was enough to light an angry fire within her.

He wouldn't get the best of her.

"Yes, both of us, fucking." She stated harshly – proudly without a single stutter – unable to stop her smile when his eyes widened in shock. Another look she wrangled out of him! It was only for a fraction of a second, had she blinked, she surely would have missed it. Now the glare he wore warned her of the coarse words to follow.

"A human is undeserving of a daiyoukai's touch."

"You touched me just a moment ago." She snapped back, uncaring about the ire rising in his eyes. After all, she already noticed something  _far more_  interesting.

"That was to put you in your place, woman."

Rin gambled between his anger and his desire – She cast a long, meaningful look between his legs before directing her gaze back to his, "I know better ways."

Her words fell between them heavily, and she couldn't read his face at all this moment. There was nothing there – neither shock or anger. Every second that passed chipped away at her confidence. ' _Just say anything!'_ She wanted to yell at him. She didn't care if it was insulting at this point, the air was suffocating.

"What are you proposing?"

He surprised her with the question. Was he willing? The youkai seemed a bit too uptight to want anything like that... Didn't his father make some comment saying the same? She chewed her bottom lip as several answers ran through her mind. What would he be inclined to allow?  _Likely something that puts me beneath him_ , she thought with a mental scoff. She noticed him watching her mouth again.

"That I am at your service, Sesshomaru." She answered, purposely ambiguous. … How many of her dreams could she make a reality? Would he truly allow it? The thought caused her to squeeze her thighs together unconsciously. His eyes narrowed again, he was wary of her... She didn't want that. A few of her reasons might be a bit selfish, but ultimately, she was willing to do anything for him. "You have done so much for me... I only wish to repay you..." Would that be enough? There was truth in it after all.

Rin noticed a subtle twitch of his nose, as his suspicion was ebbed away by something darker and more primal. "Very well."

When he commanded her to strip, she had to force out the anxiety crawling in her skin as she rose on shaky legs.  _You've done this before!_ Her mind tried to reason while she pulled off her top overhead and let her skirt pool at her feet. Yes, she wasn't a stranger to sex – but none of her experiences involved a daiyoukai, none were _him_.

Once free of the confines of clothing, the daiyoukai looked at her once over, his gaze lingered on her breasts and the apex of her thighs briefly before they reached her face again. His face betrayed nothing again - neither disgust or lust. A clawed hand beckoned her to him but his voice stopped her before she finished her first step, "Crawl."

The more angry and impulsive part of her wanted to tell him to shove it, for just a fraction of a moment, but she ignored it. She knew exactly what the game was and she would play for now. She dropped to her hands and knees, then crawled with her eyes submissive and glued to the forest floor, until she reached the empty space between his bent legs. He wanted her to feel degraded, beneath him – just as she suspected.

Rin followed his every order without complaint as she undid the tie of his obi, knowing that once she got to her prize, the dynamic will change. After all, his father let it slip that he was more than likely inexperienced... How long could he hold on to his mask? There was also that the daiyoukai seemed to bank on her caring about her dignity and reputation as most women do, particularly in these circumstances. But when it came to him, she had no such reservations. To her, he already has done everything in the dream realm – now they only had to make it a reality.

So when he demanded that she plead for his youkai cock – she did without hesitation. When he granted her permission to touch the ridged skin - she voiced her gratefulness, licking her lips in anticipation as his member thickened in her hands. And when he ordered her to suck – she did so without hiding an ounce of her eagerness, moaning when she sucked the plump head into her wet mouth.

With hooded eyes, she looked up at her savior, meeting his gaze as she pressed in deeper, taking as much as she could. With her mouth sliding up and down his shaft, she kept her tongue pressing on the underside of his cock before her hand joined in the rhythmic motion. But his expression betrayed nothing of his pleasure, mask smooth as porcelain – but porcelain was easy to crack. She  _will_  get one more reaction from him tonight.

She pulled away for a single moment, then licked right on the seam below the head earning a hiss of pleasure from the daiyoukai. Keeping her smirk hidden, she took him back in with her other hand making its way down and began rolling his balls firmly. Another glance back at him – his head was tilted to the side with a fang peaking out, and the whites of eyes seemed to be losing their pure color. The intense look made her body tremble, moaning against his thick member.

Gods, she desperately wanted to reach between her legs – but she couldn't lose focus! Rin picked up speed, swirling her tongue at the head ever so often, then nearly choked at the unexpected jerk of his hips as a low, strangled groan escaped him, filling her mouth with his warm, creamy substance. The sound he made was enough to make her sex throb, and she made a personal promise to cause it again, and again.

The smell of burning wood abruptly assaulted her nose, but she ignored it as long as he did, focusing on swallowing every drop of his cum. There was almost some sort of shock to it against her taste buds – or her lust-ridden brain was making her imagination run a bit too wild.

She licked her lips as she pulled away, and a glance to her left revealed his hand clenching one of the many roots, melting a bit near his claws. Rin almost winced at the sight, not 100% sure if she could make due with him ever sticking  _those_  fingers in her. She brought her attention back to him, just in time to see a new mask slip back into place.

"Finish making camp." The only evidence of what transpired was a bit of breathlessness between his words.

"Okay!" She exclaimed with a beaming smile that she couldn't hold in, before she dressed herself – she wasn't going to ask about bathing options nearby, as she had this suspicion he wouldn't want to speak more than necessary right now - then lit the wood still sitting in the center, and set up her sleeping bag. Sesshomaru completely disappeared at on point between that, and she was shocked to find him gone.  _I'm sure he'll be back..._  Rin thought  _He wouldn't leave after that... right?_

She decided it was best to sleep, the events of the day catching up to her.

~:~:~

He enjoyed that  _far_  too much.

Sesshomaru was washing the scent of her off his skin in the spring some distance away from camp. Far enough that he couldn't smell the thick scent of her arousal but close enough to hear a scream should she require assistance, and his unintentional consideration of her annoyed him more.

She wasn't supposed to agree. He saw the flicker of rage in her eyes when he started commanding her. She was supposed to disobey as she had before, and he would snide her, she would get offended, it would all be over. Or she would be too embarrassed and lose her nerve – it seemed the woman's emotions flip-flopped all over the place during their exchange. But she didn't do either, – in fact, he could smell her scent spike with every order – and his curiosity overrode his initial plan.

Not desire. He didn't want to shove his face in between her legs when he saw a glimpse of her glistening thighs. His control certainly didn't slip when he watched her milk his cock of every drop with an eager mouth. And the thought of grabbing her hair and digging her face into the dirt while he mounted her from behind never occurred to him. He would not fuck her. He did not desire her. His fangs grind together as his beast laughed at him.

He did not desire her, he repeated, ignoring his baser self. Those were all primitive desires brought by his basic instincts that he had no further interest in. His curiosity had been sated.

When he left the spring, it was well into the night and when he reached camp, the fire already died and the woman was quiet in her sleeping bag. Sesshomaru glared at her, seeing her content face as she slept innocently.

 _Innocently._  He sneered, the woman was far from that. He doubted it was her first time doing that particular act and he suspected she wasn't a virgin either. His eyes drifted to her partly-open mouth, and his body remembered the sensation of her warm cavern enveloping his – Sesshomaru fisted his hands, his claws piercing his palms when warmth coiled in his lions at the memory. This wasn't right, what had this woman done to him?

His glare intensified with his irritation – he should kill her and be done with it.

 _For obeying you?_  A more rational part of him scoffed, and his pride wouldn't allow it either. He would not admit the woman affected him that much.

He could leave her. Isn't that what he planned just the night before?  _Running away now?_  No, he was not. He couldn't leave now, she would not win whatever it was she started. Rin stirred a bit in her sleep, flipping away a bit of the cover from her unzipped bag before she settled again. His logical mind and his pride ran in circles – he couldn't leave, he couldn't kill her, he couldn't back down, and he absolutely could not fuck her.

He was a  _daiyoukai lord_  – Sesshomaru frowned at the thought. No, he wasn't. He hadn't been one for 40 years. Never did he even bother to correct the woman when she said his name without a title because there was nothing to correct. He was just Sesshomaru. He hadn't attempted to conquer anything outside of his father's lands, as he had zero interest in doing so.

The solitude his banishment granted him was far more preferable to balancing the city budget and diplomatic relations with other lords on the island. And being stripped of everything that a conniving woman would want from him, meant his practical reasons for not indulging in sexual activity were mute. Which begged the question once more of what she wanted with him. He didn't understand it.

He recalled her smile when she was done, she was  _proud_. Why would being in such a submissive position make her feel that way?

 _Proud_... He was the one who ordered her, who was pleasured and found release, while she begged for him and suffered through ignoring her dripping sex... but it was he who was standing in the clearing, unnerved by the experience, while she slept soundly without a care in the world.  _"I know better ways."_  She said. He felt the woman tricked him and he refused to leave it like this. Sesshomaru's gaze traveled down her concealed body, settling on her hips.

Perhaps, he had approached this incorrectly, as much as he hated to admit a misstep. He did not have much, or any, experience in these situations.

 _Perhaps_  pleasuring her – he briefly imagined the woman's body writhing underneath him – would result in a more suitable outcome, with her dazed and begging to be filled by him as he denied her release. His beast rumbled in agreement, and it was as welcome as it was unsettling. They never agreed on anything.

By the end of the first day, he was challenged by the human woman and he accepted her terms, convinced it had nothing to do with lust and everything to do with pride.

**End of Chapter 2**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixed that weird double-spacing in the last chapter, sorry about that! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Witch

Original Publish Date: 4/22/2018

~:~:~

There was a time where an injured Sesshomaru could not walk for more than a few steps before his shaking legs threatened to buckle underneath him.

Rin silently wished for that time to return for just a moment, her sore legs and feet complaining about each step. He appeared soon after she woke in the early morning and they started their goalless journey immediately, and it seemed to be a little after noon by how high the sun was in the sky. They never stopped, and the terrain turned hilly. At times she had to climb up a rock-face that he so easily hopped to the top of.  _Didn't he ever need rest?_ She thought as she pouted at his straight back.

It was also deathly quiet between them the entire time – not the normal kind of quiet like yesterday afternoon, like a heavy, almost tense kind of quiet. Aside from a 'Good morning' that he completely ignored, no other words were spoken between them since last night. She wondered if he could be angry with her. Rin bit her lip,  _No, I only did what he told me to do. Why get mad? Or maybe, he didn't like it...?_

The persistent ache in her feet finally got to her, "Can we rest for a bit?"

Sesshomaru said nothing and continued walking. Rin huffed and bared the silence for a few more minutes before she opened her mouth again, determined to get him to acknowledge her when the trees around them broke into a clearing. The words died on her tongue at the scenery of the immense mountain that towered in the middle of the island, the vast forest groves and winding rivers, she could even see the dog statue from here... Had they really climbed so far up? No wonder she was spent.

The daiyoukai made himself comfortable on a large rock not far from the cliff's edge.  _So we are resting! Thank goodness._ Rin thought as she walked over next to the front of the boulder, to be closer to the edge, and promptly just dropped herself on the grassy floor with her stomach down, moaning in relief when the weight of her body no longer pressured her achy feet. She crossed her arms below her and rested her chin on them, her eyes scanning the view in front of her.

 _The mountain..._  Rin frowned when her mind buzzed with a memory just out her reach. She ignored it and made another observation that being so high up ultimately confirmed. There was nothing in the sky but the clouds. "Why aren't there any birds here?"

"Something in the air disturbs them."

 _Something?_  Rin pondered the reply for a moment, "So there are birds here?"

"There were."

"... What happened?"

"Most bird youkai committed suicide from being forced to stay grounded."

 _Oh._  Her eyes lowered,  _that's terrible. But why would they settle here then, if death was preferable? Did they have no choice?_ She wanted to ask, but he ignored her last question that was related to 'why' and she feared he would shut her out again. She sat up and laid her legs in front of her before she looked over her shoulder at him, "Can I ask... what makes you youkai?"  _Besides your big dick_  was what she cheekily wanted to add, but she had this feeling that wouldn't end well.

Sesshomaru seemed to consider her question for a moment, "My youki."

His one or two worded answers were going to drive her  _insane_. "What is that – Whoa!" She watched a whip of light materialize from his fingertips, and slice through the thick bark of one of the trees behind him. The top half fell with a heavy thump that shook the earth beneath them. He hadn't even looked, but still made a clean cut across. If it could do that to the rough bark of an older tree, then skin and bones had no chance.

"My power."

Rin directed her attention at him again, "You... you look the same, almost. Does your youki sustain your life and youth?"

"Hn."

Rin was learning that 'hn' usually meant 'yes', or 'its okay', or something along those lines. He certainly had no problems with a flat out 'No'. "I guess it would be hard to live on my side then... People would either be deathly afraid or would want to find out how to exploit those abilities..." She absently scratched her nose, "Are your people Japanese? The armor on that dog and your clothing..."

"Hn." Then his eyes finally met her, "I presume you are as well?"

"Yup!" Rin replied, "Though my father is American... and then landing in Greece was odd..." His head tilted a bit as if he wasn't sure what she was referencing and wanted her to continue. "Last time I came, and you sent me back... I landed in Greece."

She watched the corner of lips pull slightly back to a frown, "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"Oh." Rin just shrugged, "First time sending someone out of here, right? Your father said it was. No big deal."

"You are oddly dismissive of my... error."

"It was 10 years ago." Rin smiled, "Besides, it was a... interesting experience..." She then chuckled, "Or I'm just a little weird. I did throw water on what I now know was an injured daiyoukai. My  _danger_  instinct must be completely fried."

"Hn."

She smirked at his agreement, before looking back out to the sky, feeling much better after their chat and the bit of rest. Not that she was ready to get up... A loud rumbling from her stomach protested otherwise, reminding her she only had coconut and water in the morning. She desperately wanted meat, but she hadn't a chance to hunt...

"Make a fire." He ordered as he slid down the boulder and walked off without reason.

 _Is he going to get something to eat for us...?_ She hoped so as she began setting up with the wood of the fallen tree... which happened to be an avocado tree!

~:~:~

Sesshomaru watched the woman fiercely devour the freshly-cooked chunks of a buck he decided to share with her. Not that he cared for her hunger, she knew how to forage and how to hunt enough to sustain herself, but he happened to be a bit peckish already when he heard her stomach garble. When his beast made some comment of eating  _her_ , he knew it was time to leave the clearing. The buck was too large for him alone and after he had his fill, he returned with one of its hind legs. Her excitement and gratitude for such a simple thing almost made him want to continue hunting for her.

Almost.

He shut his eyes. He spent far too much time watching her. Whether it was with his eyes, his ears, or his nose – every one of his senses was hyper-aware of  _her_. It drove him mad, mad enough to respond to her questions for distraction, but it only made his ears cling to how she pronounced every word.  _This isn't right._ He found himself thinking once more, irritated by the effect her very presence had.

Rin sighed in satisfaction after she finished her meal, moving to put out the fire and store what was left for dinner, he presumed. The woman needed to bathe and wash her clothing - her sweat, cooked meat, avocados, camellias and stale arousal made a strange cocktail of smells that was not exactly pleasant. The nearest spot would be a large lake just down the cliff edge. A quick shot of light for him but it would take her well into the night to scale down. He had no intentions of waiting around that long.

He grabbed her bare waist once she slung her bag over her shoulder, earning a surprised 'eep!' and pink flush across her cheeks. Sesshomaru ignored it, and his beast's mental smirk, before the two were engulfed in light and sped down the rocky cliff face. They landed on the lake's shoreline within moments, and he let her go... and grabbed her again when she nearly wobbled face-first into the water.

"Wha... What was that?" Rin steadied herself against him, her expression seemed disoriented. He didn't consider the short travel in that form would cause her problems...  _Were all humans really so fragile?_  He thought Izayoi to be an exception due to her pampered upbringing.

"I moved us to the lake."

"Moved... us?" She was rubbing her right temple, but her legs finally stopped swaying and he let her go again. "Okay. Moved us..." Rin repeated, looking at where they were, then back to the lake, and back to him, "You won't answer how that works?"

"Hn."  _As if she would understand._

Instead of irritation, she smiled and shook her head as if amused with him, which in turn irritated him further. There is nothing  _amusing_ about him. "I'm guessing we are here to bathe?" The confidence in her voice broke, just as it had the night before when he asked about her dreams. And he already felt a dark rumbling from his beast – it was...  _stupid_ , he thought, unable to think of a more eloquent way of putting it. She stuttered, that was all.

He didn't answer her. The woman sniffed her arm, then raised a brow at him, "I stink, don't I?"

"Hn."

Rin dropped her bag with a sigh, pulled the shawl protecting her bare shoulders, then began untying the long, orchid sarong from her waist. What was she doing? She dropped the patterned fabric next to her things, then slipped her feet out her shoes before placing them neatly on the other side of her pack. Her slender fingers undid the knots that held her halter top at the neck and back, then it joined the sarong on the ground. Was she toying with him? She simply started undressing, facing the opposite way, without a single care that he was just a few steps away from her.

Her thumbs hooked under the hem of her boyshorts and he watched as it slid down her hips until it dropped to her ankles, now completely bare to the afternoon sun. Her hands came up to undo the messy bun that held her wild, deep brown hair when an eye looked over her shoulder, meeting his gaze. His eyes momentarily shifted to her throat when he noticed it contract, and back to her face in time to see another pink flush across her cheeks before she looked away. There was a familiar change in her scent, one that had an almost instantaneous effect on him much to his annoyance.

He was caught watching, and she enjoyed it. Yes, the woman was certainly toying with him.  _Again._

Locks of dark hair cascaded down her toned back and his hands itched to grab the thick of it and -  _No._ Sesshomaru shut his eyes again, before averting his attention to the calm lake. He focused on finding his center, unwilling to let his instinctual desires rule him nor let the woman dictate whenever she wanted to - A large splash of warm water interrupted his thoughts, and he glanced down at his soaked clothing in shock before they landed on the naked woman who snuck into the lake already. Her mouth was in an o-shape before she started giggling. In silent anger, he pushed aside the wet locks sticking to his cheek then leveled her with a glare before he dropped his fur to the grass, removed his boots and began untying his obi.

Damn whatever he just said, she would pay now. "I seriously thought you were going to move away!" He heard her yell, still stifling with giggles. " … Are you mad? It's just water!" That was the  _second time_  she dunked water on him - the first could be excused as she was a child but not this time. Her damn giggles began to fade as his upper body was exposed, feeling her doe eyes shamelessly travel from his face down his chest and abs, lingering where his hands still gripped the hem of his hakama as if caught in a trance.

Sesshomaru forcefully repressed the smirk at her spike in scent, ignoring what twisted boost of pride he felt from his appearance having such an effect on her. But his control slipped when she shamelessly licked her lips after his last bit of clothing hit the ground, feeling his lips curl as his beast rumbled with satisfaction. Abruptly, the woman's face flushed and she covered her cheeks when he stepped closer to the edge of the water.

He heard her heart pounding wildly, her breathing shortening in excitement - Sesshomaru had no clue what switched in the mortal's mind but her body told him she was about to make a break for it, which would be terribly unwise. It was in his nature to give chase, and the woman stood no chance, whether on land or in the water. Just as the first foot dipped in, she grinned - the apprehension was gone - and twisted around before disappearing below the lake's surface.

With no one to witness, Sesshomaru allowed a chuckle escape - his beast roaring to hunt the enticing woman - and dove into the water.

~:~:~

Rin had no idea what she was doing trying to run from him, only that she inexplicably knew Sesshomaru would enjoy it. At least, he did in her dreams and they haven't failed her yet. Now, she didn't know how well he could track her underwater, but she figured it would be more difficult for him than on land. Not to mention, she smiled mentally, the lake wasn't too deep it seemed and filled with plants, branches, and fallen trees - enough cover for her to hopefully create some distance before taking a breath.

Knowing the youkai was already closing in, she strafed to the left towards a barricade of fallen bark, squeezing between two logs - a space too small for him. She absently followed a school of fish around the underwater plants and through another stack of fallen trees. That was when she noticed a tunnel to her right and swam up to its entrance, she disturbed the weeds there before she shot up to the surface and climbed out of the lake, hoping he would mistake her to entering the underwater passage.

She was only able to take a few breaths in peace. When Rin heard the water break behind her, she didn't bother looking back and dashed directly into the forest in front of her. She was able to dodge the claws that skittered across her wet skin as she moved between the thicket of trees, laughing in delight. But being able to stay just out of reach was short-lived once the forest broke into a large clearing and she had no more cover to maneuver around.  _Crap._

Rin gasped when his arm caught her waist and roughly pulled her, back pressing against his chest. Feeling his breath prickling her shoulders, she instinctively angled her neck, baring herself to him. He leaned closer and his fangs skidded across her skin, stopping just where her pulse pounded. "You would bare your neck to a predator?" Sesshomaru asked.

"I trust you." She replied without thinking, breathless from the run, his closeness and their lack of dress. The deep growl that rumbled from the daiyoukai made her want to lean further on him, the vibrations of his chest rippling down her back.

"Foolish woman." He sneered, but it didn't have the bite it should have had, and Rin figured it had something to do with the hard cock against her lower back. Gods, she wanted to get a good look at him, completely bare. She only got a glance earlier, it wasn't enough. Would he mind if she turned around to admire him? She swore she saw a flicker of him enjoying it before they hit the water… She licked her lips nervously, before she slowly turned, the arm that was around her waist stayed. Hadn't he noticed that he was still holding her?

His silver hair was saturated as her own, the shorter locks clung to his face and shoulders. Her eyes traveled down his traps, the curve of his collarbone, down his pectorals, but being pressed so close didn't afford a good view of anything further below. Maybe she could… She'll have to be careful, she couldn't have his pride getting in the way. Mustering a smidge of courage and hoping the man wouldn't take too much offense, her hand rested on his side and trailed it downward. When he didn't show a hint of protest, she circled the thick member.

"Maybe I am…" She moved in long, slow strokes, biting back her smile when she heard his breath hiss at her touch. So he didn't mind… Rin leaned forward, now her mouth close to his neck as he was a moment ago. She had done it to hide her face, unable to say her next words  _too_  directly, but feeling his rapid pulse so close made her bolder...  _Or more stupid._  Rin mimicked the same motion he had, but she took it one step further and sunk her teeth into his skin, knowing she was too weak to hurt him.

He jerked his hips in response before a clawed hand gripped her soaked hair from the roots and pulled her completely away from him without letting go. He snarled in her face, the whites of his eyes gone red and long fangs peeking out from his lips. It was a face she was becoming familiar with, one she should have been terrified of, but with the sight of his leaking cock, she instead found herself trying not to smile. Her dreams were right about that spot and she saw through him.  _He liked it and doesn't like that he did._

"I'm sorry…" She looked at the ground and made sure the crook of her neck was in full view as she lowered herself to her knees. He allowed the movement, but his hand was still tangled in her hair and his red eyes watched her carefully. Keeping her submissive position, she peeked up at him through her dark lashes, "Can this foolish woman have the honor of pleasuring you once more?"

~:~:~

" _I trust you."_  And Rin had him.

The woman was a witch.

They had returned to their previous spot with their belongings still undisturbed on the lush grass. And again, she was carefree while she bathed several feet away from him as he fought the urge to wade over and drown her. She had to be a witch or some sort of enchantress. His claws absently touched the spot her blunt teeth bit, remembering the unexpected shock of pleasure that hit him. He'd never been bitten before, certainly not like that. How else would she know the sensitivity he had there or that he would enjoy it? He hadn't even known.

Sesshomaru's gaze traveled to her again, the woman humming softly as she cleaned her body. Her back was facing him and the water was lapping just a few inches above her hips. He was at a loss. Despite his private promise last night to make her pay, he quickly realized he had little idea how while she knew far more than him. Never had he thought that listening to the vulgar conversations his father's men had about their latest conquests would have any use to him… Even as a hormonal teen, he found zero interest in their stories.

Her humming stopped and he heard her swear under her breath, fighting with a knot in her hair. He has already behind her before he realized what he was doing, slapping her hands away and working the small pieces of wood that were ensnared in her tresses. After winning the chase, the woman was eventually on her knees, servicing him with the same eagerness as before. And he, for a reason unknown to him, allowed it. Then he had fought the building urge to mount her as his beast snarled and pulled against his mental chains. Even now, after finding release not too long ago, he could feel the urge rearing its head again as he subconsciously took in her sweet scent up close. This damn woman has cursed him.

Rin looked up at him from over shoulder and flashed him a brilliant smile, one that must be part of her enchantment. "Thanks for the help." She said, gesturing to her detangled hair. He kept his gaze glued to her eyes when she turned to face him, as he had  _zero_  interest in her breasts. None. "Why are you so stripey? Do they mean anything?"

Sesshomaru ignored her question, then began making his way to the shore. He needed some distance between them before he got caught up once more in her games. His beast mocked him for it, saying he was running off but he ignored the base creature as well. It was only looking for him to stay and give into whatever perverse fantasies it had with the woman. She may not know it, but he was doing the fragile mortal a favor. She was reckless to think-

" _I trust you."_  Rin had said in the clearing when he could have pierced the artery pumping underneath his lethal fangs. It was absurd. He got out of the water and with a pulse of his power, he was dry enough to dress. Yesterday, she had no idea  _what_ he was, and today, she claimed she  _trusted_  him. Youkai used to eat humans and others never stopped - The latter were killed, while the rest were condemned to this island.

" _I trust you."_  It should have been a lie. He should have smelt it on her breath, but with a bare neck, she moved closer to him. She believed she could trust him. As the beast in his mind taunted him with images of all the ways he could take advantage of that trust, he silently cursed her name again. What a foolish woman.

~:~:~

Rin wondered if she was discovering some sort of pattern about her stoic friend.

It was nighttime and they - well, she - made camp a few moments ago when he ordered. The only words he spoke to her since their little moment in the afternoon. He began acting a bit strange after that and stranger, and stranger… She frowned at the spot he was just standing in before he jumped into the trees and out of sight. Did he have a problem with what she did? It certainly didn't seem that way during the act. She shivered against a strong breeze - they were  _much_  higher up than ever before and despite the tropic climate, it seemed the nights were much colder at this elevation.

Even after slipping into her sleeping bag and the low fire going, the chill in the wind pierced through the small clearing. A thicker sleeping bag would have a been better in this situation, or an extra blanket,  _anything_. Or she could wear something more instead of just her underwear while in the bag, but then she wouldn't be able to sleep. To her, sleeping naked was the only way but that wasn't an option in the wilderness.

Should she ask him what was wrong when he returned?  _Like he would answer._  She pushed away any more thoughts of him and prioritized sleep. No doubt he would be dragging her out early in the morning again.

Sesshomaru hadn't gone far, deciding to sit on top of the tallest tree in the vicinity, enjoying the feel of the cold air biting his skin. If he focused, he could still hear her and he did. He heard the soft tremble of her body whenever the wind blew or her turning over and over again to find some comfort.  _Were humans weak enough to fall ill to the slight cold up here?_  He repressed a sigh when he dropped down back to the clearing. It wouldn't do if the woman got sick. He unceremoniously dumped his fur on her but both couldn't fit in the sleeping bag, so he unzipped it and willed the boa to curl around her body to provide the extra warmth she needed.

Just as he turned to leave again, a soft moan and a groggy "Thanks" caused him to look over his shoulder, two sleepy brown eyes watching him. In the darkness of the night, the woman certainly looked like the enchantress he claimed her to be with her wild, long, dark hair, the lack of any real clothing aside from her undergarments left the pale skin of her legs and midriff exposed. She turned onto her stomach, her arms hugging his fur. He ground his fangs when her strong thighs gripped the end coiled around her legs - did she know he could feel that?  _Impossible._  And that damn smile appeared on her lips. He narrowed his eyes, he hated her confidence and more how it affected him.

When his beast whispered to him like a devil on his shoulder, his pride made up a reason to listen.  _You wouldn't even have to touch her._ The darkness snickered. The sound of her gasp as the muscles of his fur rippled around her body, stammering his name in shock when part of the boa locked her elbows behind her, and the pretty flush on her cheeks, when the other end slipped around the apex of her thighs, left him very curious. He noticed the movement of her throat as she swallowed. She was fully awake now but there was no scent of fear or apprehension. No, he only picked up desire.  _Play with her._

The muscles in his boa began to roll, massaging every inch of her it touched. The thin barrier of fabric that covered her breasts did nothing to dull its touch, judging by her soft moaning. When he willed his boa to concentrate at her core, she gasped and arched her back. Her hips rolled against the fur as she met his eyes. Her breath quickened and she spread her legs to give his boa better access. Did she have no shame? She moaned loudly, and her movements turned desperate.

 _Not yet._ Sesshomaru allowed himself to smirk as Rin squirmed against the boa, a tortured whine escaping her when his ministrations stopped. Her doe-like eyes looked up at him, "...Maru?" She sounded so sweet and - his nose twitched - her scent was intoxicating. Coying his senses as her gaze pleaded with him to come closer, and it took every ounce of his control to keep his feet planted. Why was it so hard to ignore her when he had no trouble with the whores of the court or the feral bitches of the island? Without thought, his boa started its ministrations again and the woman rewarded him with the charged sound of his name as she pressed against the fur. He inhaled through his parted lips, he could almost taste her in the air. He was entranced by the way her hips moved, the way she squirmed against the grip on her arms, and - her body bowed off the forest floor, a loud gasp escaped her as she found her release. And Sesshomaru reeled from the feeling of wanting to cause it again, and again.

His eyes narrowed, his curiosity wasn't sated. His desire was…  _No_. He looked away.  _Not desire. No._ He wanted more. His hands clenched.  _Damn it all._ He wanted to hear her scream his name.  _Fuck this woman._ Anger and the unresolved sexual pressure was a terrible combination. He knew he had to leave before his beast got the best of him.

He turned his attention back to the sky before he jumped back to his spot in the trees. He took several breaths, the cold wind against his skin easing him. Sesshomaru swallowed thickly,  _Run_. He needed a run. Transforming into his true form, the daiyoukai took off to the dense forest below.

~:~:~

When Sesshomaru left, the fur relaxed, as if the thing wasn't alive and torturing her moments ago. Out of all the crazy things Rin conjured up in her dreams, she had thought the living boa was pure fantasy. She let out one last shuddering breath as her heart returned to a normal pace. But her dreams proved to be right once more and her suspicion of them grew.  _Just what is going on?_ She briefly thought he had something to do with them before but dismissed it. Now…

Rin curled her body around the fur, nuzzling her face in its soft hairs. She inhaled deeply, savoring his sharp scent of lighting and Japanese pine.  _Had_  he been playing with her this whole time from afar? She frowned, he didn't seem the type but tonight proved how little she knew of the boundaries of his character… But every event of today proved that her dreams somehow knew him better. And if that was true… Her chuckle was muffled by the fur,  _Does he think he can get away without touching me? Without 'dirtying' his hands?_  Her eyelids dropped, the body demanding rest after the exhausting day but the mind continued scheming.

Her instincts might be dull compared to his, but Rin saw how much he fought to restrain himself as he watched her.  _He enjoys watching quite a lot, doesn't he?_  Even when their discussion is light, or when the air is tense, he was looking or listening to her in some capacity. She wondered how long he could hold onto his control and what would happen the day she broke it. A soft smile curled her lips as she exhaled, sinking into fur and granting her body the rest it craved.

If Sesshomaru enjoyed watching her so much, it would only be right if she gave her savior a show, now wouldn't it? On  _her_  terms.

**End of Chapter 3**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after a year, I finally pulled through the last half of this chapter. TBH, I have no idea why it was so difficult.
> 
> Just a bit of a warning, I have 0 idea when the next chapter will be ready. Monster is my current WIP while others get updated when the moment strikes.
> 
> I was thinking of getting Hemingway editor or upgrading Grammarly to premium, I'm not sure. Does anyone here have any input on either these?


	4. Faces

Original Publish Date: 7/21/2018

~:~:~

Rin's eyes were fixated on the slight sway of the long silver hair in front of her, lost in thought as she curled a lock of her hair around her index finger. Again, they were walking with no destination in mind that she knew of - and again, the silence between them was tense. This didn't make sense to her, thinking that since he had his fun last night, he wouldn't be strange the next morning but it seemed his attitude still persisted. Could it possibly be that he was ashamed in some way? It seemed silly. He came across as someone too arrogant to know shame…

In any case, the easy way to break the tension was to piss him off, and she had a few sensitive subjects ready.

Rin picked up her pace to match beside him, "Your father told me he banished you because you killed a cousin. Why?"

"That's none of your business."

The sound of a waterfall and a citrus scent caught her senses. They seemed to be reaching the end of the trail. Sesshomaru moved aside a few hanging vines, revealing a massive waterfall with mature fruit trees providing shade along the sides. Though the natural beauty was mesmerizing in its own right, the stone dog that appeared to carved from jade demanded her attention.

"What is this?" Rin asked as she walked toward the canine statue. It stood stall with a face that gave no inkling to its thoughts, staring down the river that was fed by the falling water.

"A guardian spirit."

She walked up to one of the trees, staring wide-eyed at her favorite fruit that dangled out of her reach. But before Rin climbed up to get it, she needed to be sure it was okay. "What's it guarding?" Rin squeaked when two hands gripped her bare waist and lifted her up just enough. Despite her shock, she wasted no time grabbing two guavas before he set her back down.

"Depends who you ask."

"What do you think he's guarding?"

"I don't believe it exists."

"Oh?" Rin walked over to the river and cleaned the fruits. "Then what do others believe?"

"It's a female. Some believe it's a spirit of nature. They pray for a good harvest, particularly for their orchards." He surprised her by taking one of the fruits and then biting into its flesh.

She pouted, "These were mine." He continued eating without even a blink about her complaint. She looked around at the various other trees as she munched on her own guava - orange, lemon, pomegranate, mango, and persimmon. All their branches were heavy with an abundance of fruit and flowers. "Others believe it guards these trees. They produce fruit all year round without fail. The guava and persimmon only grow on this soil."

Rin stopped chewing, looking down at her nearly-eaten fruit then him, "Are we in trouble?"

"I don't believe it exists." He repeated, making his way to a persimmon tree that was more fruit than tree. She followed him after popping the last of the guava in her mouth, keeping the statue in the corner of her vision.

"So then no one eats these? Won't they fall and rot? Seems like such a waste."

"Hn." When he reached the bottom of the tree, he turned to face her as if expecting something. She looked up at crowded branches as she stepped closer to him, biting back a smirk when his hands gripped her again and lifted her with ease. He certainly didn't _need_ her help. If anything it would be more simple for him to levitate or whatever it is he does to grab those out of reach. Plus she could climb the tree just fine toand he obviously knew that already from their travels so far. Now she took her time working a collective bunch of persimmon off the branch, noting his arms didn't quiver despite her weight and the not-so-ideal grip he had. With great difficulty, she pushed away the thoughts of how easily he could throw her down on the forest floor and pin her beneath him…

And how much she wanted him to. _Losing focus!_

Sesshomaru put her back down when she finished, and Rin didn't miss the way his hands lingered for a moment longer than necessary. "Have you ever had gotgamssam?" He didn't answer as she admired the perfect skin on the fruit she picked, "Its a Korean dessert, just walnut wrapped in dried persimmon but it's really good! ...My mom preferred using pecans instead." She looked up at him, surprised to see him watching her as if he wanted her to… continue talking? No, he glanced at the orange-colored fruits in her hand and Rin couldn't help but smile, "You're so cute." The statement slipped before she caught herself.

His eyes widened a fraction before they narrowed into a familiar glare, "This Sesshomaru is not _cute_."

Her smile turned into a full grin, and she stepped closer until her chest brushed against the cold steel of his armor, "I think…" She dared to place her hand on his cheek as her heart began to race, "... _this_ Sesshomaru is very cute, especially when he is glaring at me." He opened his mouth, likely to protest by the hard look in his eyes, but she placed a finger over his lips to stop it, knowing it would raise his ire more. "I also think the Sesshomaru I met last night was incredibly sexy. And I can't wait to meet all the other faces of your character… I'm sure I'll love them all." She pulled away then, unsure how to feel about his unreadable expression after her confession. She wouldn't let her unease show. With her tone light and carefree, she changed to a much safer subject, "Can you help me get some oranges? Or are we staying for the night?"

~:~:~

The woman changed from witch to siren.

Sesshomaru had left her in the orchard, off to find some animals whose bones he could chew to cleanse his mouth of the sweet fruit. He didn't make it far when a soft melody reached his superior hearing, one that soothed and beckoned him back to her. He watched her from the treetops, out of sight, as she sang in a language he didn't understand while she stripped her clothing. The river was sacred to his father's people - another baseless belief that the water here was somehow significantly superior to anywhere else on the island - and no one dared to drink from it, much less bathe in its waters. He failed to disclose this to her, thinking it was not particularly worth mentioning…

Was it Greek she was singing in? His gaze latched on to every bit of her skin as it was exposed to his eyes, and his ears drowned out the sound of running water, hearing only her voice. There was nothing else but her. She waded over to the jade statue in the middle of where the waterfall fed the river, and climbed up the stone platform it rested on. She stood in front of the dog, her eyes wide as they took in its form. Her hand reached out and touched the top of its snout, trailing to the side and up towards the ear. Her song continued, with hands tracing the intricate carvings on the dog's head.

His mind toyed him, conjuring images of her touching him with such ease in his own true form and singing a song for him alone. Sesshomaru was briefly surprised when she stepped back and clasped her hands with her head down in a small prayer for a moment before slipping into the water again. What could she have possibly prayed for from a spirit of nature? Rin made her way to a quieter side of the waterfall, where she could stand under the falling water without the pressure harming her. It also meant the water line was much lower, just inches above her knees. When she tilted her back, the water ran down her thick, black mane, down the valley of her breasts, her trim waist, and thick thighs before joining the river below.

Her song ended, to his reluctant disappointment, but unbeknownst to him, another was just beginning.

.

.

Rin knew he was nearby, somewhere in the trees like the night before. There was this feeling he gave off, _his youki maybe?_ , that sparked in the air. Or maybe she just knew he wouldn't stray too far, unwilling to leave her unprotected and vulnerable to others. She sighed as the cool water relieved her skin from the heat while bared to the sun. She ran her fingers through her hair, thankful that it was clear of any knots. She doubted he would her help like yesterday. _Thinking about yesterday..._

Rin flushed as she remembered his bare body, the corded muscles of his arms and their unbreakable grip when they wrapped around her waist. Her eyes drifted closed as her hands massaged her breasts. How would he take her their first time? Would he be rough, pinning her beneath him with no escape as he pounded into her desperately? Or would he careful, mindful of his strength as he eased into her and rode her into ecstasy? She moaned quietly, one hand drifting to her nether regions. Either way, she would enjoy every moment of it.

"Sesshomaru…" Rin breathed, her back resting against the smooth rock with the clear water shielding her naked body. Was he watching her now? Another moan escaped her as she slipped a finger inside her. Would he touch himself as she did now, listening to her voice? Just the thought of it made her body shudder in delight.

"My, my. What do we have here?" Her eyes snapped open at the unfamiliar voice, now seeing a tall man at the edge of the water, a cocky grin on his face. His gold-green eyes glinted with mischief and something darker that made her glare. "You know this place is sacred…" He cleared what would have been an impossible jump for a normal human from the edge to a boulder a few feet away from her, his long silver hair trailing behind him.

Rin stepped further away, gripping the wall behind her, "What do you want?"

"Lord Touga sent me to check up on you to make sure you are alright -"

"Thank you. I'm fine. You can go now." She interrupted him and saw the red flash in his eyes. Rin stepped up onto the platform of rock that continued against the wall to increase the distance between them. Maybe there was a cave behind this waterfall?

"Now that's not very nice." He was already in front of her, not bothered by how his clothing got soaked when he crossed the falling water. "I could smell you from miles away, beautiful. If you need release, I can grant it as many times as you would like."

"I have no interest in you." Rin snapped, still taking steps backward.

"You want that cousin of mine? The kin killer? The one who's never laid with a woman? You'd be disappointed. I'm quite sure he prefers the sword if you know what I mean."

Her brow twitched, "Not that it's any of your business, but I know otherwise."

"If that's true, where is he as you touch yourself in the open?" He scoffed, the whites of his eyes began to change color. "Don't lie to me, girl. I can smell he hasn't taken you yet."

"That hardly means anything."

"To us, it means everything."

Her eyes couldn't catch the quick movement he did to close in on her, nor could they catch precisely when Sesshomaru broke through the waterfall and pinned the man against the rock with his clawed hand at his throat. Rin couldn't understand the snarls and barks the two exchanged as blood began to paint the stone. A more innocent part of her mind begged her to look away when Sesshomaru's claws sliced up the man's abdomen, but she didn't. She kept her gaze on him, his crimson eyes promising death to his opponent. This… this was another part of him. She wouldn't look away.

The man shattered his armor but Sesshomaru was unfazed, slamming his face against the rock with a low growl as if giving his final warning. The man struggled against his grip until he found a way to maneuver out of it, then barked viciously before he lunged at Sesshomaru again. After another scuffle, a sickening crack echoed, and the man's body dropped to the floor like a ragdoll, covered in his life's liquid. Sesshomaru's murderous teal eyes shifted to her and her heart began to hammer in her chest when the anger didn't yield, and the gold did not return.

Her instincts screamed at her to run with every step he took, but she kept her feet planted. He wouldn't hurt her - not to kill. He stopped just within arm's reach and his gaze trailed down her body, lingering on her breasts for a moment before returning to her face. He looked every bit like a wild dog that just finished with his kill, and now eyeing his prize. His voice was rumbled, "You did not want him."

His tone made it sound as if it was halfway between a statement and a question, so she replied. "No. Of course not." Rin scrambled in her head for any dreams that played out like this one and couldn't recall a single one. She never dealt with him like this. She was on her own.

"Hmm…" He touched her cheek, the blood of his opponent smearing against her skin. "Does my kill please you?"

She glanced at the body. _Please me?_ The man obviously did not have good intentions… if he hadn't stopped him, she wouldn't have stood a chance, even if killing may have taken it a bit too far… "Yes." He protected her. However, the man called him cousin, and she feared Sesshomaru might have ignited his father's wrath again.

"Show me." Rin blinked. _Show…?_ Her lips twitched and her brief confusion faded, he really did enjoy watching, didn't he? She grabbed his hand and led him to the break in the wall. There was a cave behind this section of the waterfall, and its angle allowed the summer sun to break through the water and illuminate inside. It provided a tiny bit of privacy for them.

"Can I…" Rin touched the fluffy boa, "...borrow this?" He gave a slight tilt of his head in approval and boa sprung to life, wrapping itself around her and causing her to giggle as its fur brushed against her skin. When she turned back to him, he was gone, but she didn't fret. She slowly dropped to her knees and the boa seemed to understand what she wanted, curling on the cold stone until it provided enough cover for her to lay her back on it. She would need to have a serious conversation with him about just what the thing was. Her hand grabbed the muscle under all the fur, massaging lightly, and it turned lax in her grip.

 _Can he feel that in some way?_ Rin thought. She got comfortable on her back, then dropped her head to the side as she took a deep breath, savoring his scent embedded in the boa. She smirked when it wrapped one end around her waist in an almost possessive manner. Would he use it on her again…? Or would he finally put his hands on her? It didn't take long for her body to heat up once more at the thought of him. He always had that power over her even if he didn't make use of it, or wasn't aware of it.

Lost in her fantasies as she began to touch her body, she didn't realize he returned until a low growl reached her ears. Rin turned her head to look up at Sesshomaru, clean from the blood and only in his hakama. His eyes had yet to return to their original color, his fangs were still enlarged and hardly fit in his mouth. Again, her dull instincts told her to flee from the predator and again, she ignored its warning. In fact, she relished in it, encouraged by his wild, heated gaze as she rocked her hips, slipping a second digit inside her.

"Sesshomaru…" Rin called, unashamed of the pleading in her voice. She was desperate for his touch. Panting, she locked eyes with him, "Come here." His nose twitched. She swallowed thickly, her other hand massaging the boa over her mid-section. "Please..." She saw the slight hitch when she touched the fur, _so he_ _ **can**_ _feel it_. That made last night more intimate than she originally thought…

She blinked in shock when he was suddenly over her body, the red in his eyes glowing. She could hear his claws scraping against the stone beneath the fur when he buried his nose in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply. When he pulled away, Rin brought up her hand and, while praying it wouldn't cause him to leave, placed her wet fingertips on his bottom lip. His intense gaze stole her breath as his long tongue lapped her digits clean. Her legs squirmed when she imagined his tongue between her thighs - and he chuckled.

… _What?_ Her shock melted away when he briefly nuzzled her chest before his mouth captured a nipple, suckling with greater care than she thought in his current state. He gave her neglected breast the same treatment before his mouth continued trailing down her abdomen, her muscles twitching under his touch. _Oh gods, was he actually going to…?_ She felt his nose in her curls, inhaling her scent. She flushed, wondering what she must smell like for him to keep doing -

Rin gasped at the shock of pleasure when his tongue pressed against her. She spread her legs further for him and one hand drifted to the top of his head, her fingers tangling in his silky tresses. As his tongue explored, he brushed against her pearl causing that delightful tremble through her body. "Right there…"

She moaned when he did it again, feeling his lethal fangs rub against her.

Rin reached over, with both hands on him as they lightly rubbed the curve of his ears. His growl almost sounded like a purr and sent delightful vibrations that made her squirm. She was so close, she just… "Your hand… please." She begged, "Just as I did." When he paused, she panicked for that moment, thinking she had upset him and he would stop.

But Sesshomaru headed her plea, and she rewarded him with a breathy moan and a roll of her hips. This was far more than Rin was expecting to get out of him. She must have been dreaming again. His long fingers curled inside her while he sucked on her button, and she closed her thighs around him, not wanting him to move away. The tightness only amplified the growl that escaped his lips, it's vibrations sending her over the edge.

He didn't stop. Rin tried just to squirm away for just a moment to catch her breath but his hands grabbed her hips and dragged her back into place before his tongue replaced his fingers, greedily lapping up every drop of her essence. He wasn't going to let her go. "Sessh-!" He made a noise - something between a bark and a growl - and that's when it truly dawned on her that something might not be all there with him. While her dreams occasionally had some carnal behavior, it was never to the point of him not speaking. "Up here." She said softly, trying to get her hands under his chin to guide him upwards. To her relief, he complied, making his way back up. Maybe if she-

Rin groaned when his hips thrust forward, his hard length rubbing on her wet core. _Oh god_. _If he did that again-_ "Wait!" She tried placing her forearm across his chest to stop him from leaning forward. "Is something wrong?"

Sesshomaru smirked - again. His voice was garbled, as of speaking words was out of his nature. "What makes you think that?"

She glanced at his lips and flushed when his tongue swept over them, getting the last bit of her clean off. Rin cleared her throat, meeting his eyes. " _That_."

"You should have asked…" He leaned forward as if her arm was not struggling in the slightest, his mouth against her ear. "...before you started provoking me, girl."

"Who are you?" Rin blurted. This wasn't him, right? He didn't behave this way.

Fangs nipped the skin under her ear, again the words were garbled by the growl in his chest. "Your desire."

Nope. Not Sesshomaru. "I want Sesshomaru back." It replied back with a short snarl. "Please. For the first time, I want it to be him." Rin pleaded, her hands finding their way to his pointed ears once more as she rubbed the base. It seemed to have a calming effect before, and she hoped it still would now. He rose up enough to meet her gaze. She couldn't tell what it was thinking or what was happening! "After the first time, you can have me all you want. Is that fair?" Teal eyes regarded her with an almost thoughtful look, before it replied with a gruff, low growl.

~:~:~

The bone snapped in his jaws too quickly to give him any gratification.

Sesshomaru spit it out in frustration, then continued stalking the forest in his true form in search of something more satisfying. His beast made a poor, expected pun of him burying his bone in the woman instead, almost causing him to roll his eyes. He sniffed out a larger animal nearby and made chase. It wasn't long until he laid on the forest floor, chewing through his prey while he held the body between his massive paws.

It wasn't enough to distract his mind however from wandering back to the woman - to Rin. She said nothing after his lapse of control.

Occupied with his kill, he hadn't realized Rin long left the spot he left her in to search him out. When she emerged from trees, her eyes were wide and curious. Fear was absent. _Stupid woman._ He thought. Approaching a predator while it partook in its meal was never a good idea, a basic rule that spanned nearly all creatures. She at least had the sense to keep herself a few feet away.

"Sesshomaru?"

He ignored her and purposely snapped down on the animal with a resounding crunch, curious of her reaction. Rin winced at the sound, but again fear was still absent. He needed her fear. He needed her to run away from him. Sesshomaru snapped his jaws at her when she took a step closer.

"Can I touch you?" He recalled his brief fantasy earlier petting his snout, and he snarled at her. He snarled from the deepest part of his chest, and it nearly shook the nearby trees off their roots. There was a brief moment of fear in her scent when she covered her ears, but sadness soon shrouded it. "You are angry with me."

Livid was more appropriate.

"Is it because of what happened in the cave?" Rin's hands dropped from her head to around her body, hugging herself as she looked away. "I don't understand what happened to you but it wasn't my intentions to take advantage..."

Sesshomaru glared at her as she spoke. He was not angry at what occurred as much as he hated to admit it. The _act_ was more enjoyable than he thought it would have been. No, he was angry because, despite this frail, stupid woman's complete lack of knowledge of his kind and himself, she had successfully quelled his beast on their _first_ encounter.

How many bitches and arrogant men had he killed for attempting the same? Easily hundreds starting from the day he hit puberty. But this one - this outsider - this _human_ has been with him for hardly four days and… She could have yielded to his beasts desire and had his cock inside her as she so desperately wanted, instead she bargained with it - on _his_ behalf.

It was sickening. No one should have any control over any part of him. It was enough to make his blood boil and growl at her again. Why was he so angry? Why did he want so much? Where was his training? What the hell was she doing to him?

Rin was unfazed by his sounds and she frowned, eyes still downcast. "I'm not leaving you alone until we talk about this… _with words_."

To hell with that.

Sesshomaru shook his body as he rose up to his paws. He already towered over her in his humanoid form, now like this, he could swallow her whole. She would no longer linger in his thoughts or taunt him with her body. She would be dead and gone. His movement caused her to look up, her sadness giving away to wonder as she admired his form. She raised her arms up and hopped, a silent request. One he should not indulge.

Her face turned to pleading, her gold-brown eyes going impossibly wide. She chewed on her bottom lip. playing _Damn._ With an annoyed huff, he lowered his head and used his snout to launch her in the air none too carefully. Instead of screaming like a normal person, she laughed and laughed until she landed on the back of his neck. Despite her small size, he could feel her hands grip for leverage and her face buried into his fur. He ignored how much better she smelt when content and ran for an hour straight until his aggravated energy simmered down to a more manageable soft hum.

Rin had been silent throughout his run, much to his pleasure, but he suspected she would bombard him with questions the moment he returned to his humanoid form. He gave the area around them one more swept with his senses to ensure it was safe before his body was engulfed in light and began shrinking. He caught her in his arms before she voiced her panic. She grumbled something about warning her as he descended, and like before he found he enjoyed the smooth skin under his palms and wasn't too keen on letting go.

And this time she wasn't silent. "Careful. After all that's happened today, I might think you like touching me." He narrowed his eyes at her teasing tone, and she doubled down, her hands catching his to keep them in place before he pulled away. " _And_ that glare again? I already told you how much I enjoy it." Her hands drifted upward, tracing the stripes from his wrists up his forearm. "I never got the chance to _properly_ thank you earlier…"

"Properly?" He sensed a trap, one he wanted to spring.

Rin smirked, one he found far more attractive than acceptable. Her hands gave his forearms an appreciative squeeze before retreating from his sleeves. The loss of contact was short lived as her hands rested on his chest before gliding up to where his kimono parted at the neck. "Y-yes..." And that pink flush colored her cheeks when her confidence slipped, one that made him pull her body flush against him. She gasped at motion, and looked up at him through her thick lashes, "That's cheating…"

"What do you want from me?" The question slipped before he caught himself.

Rin blinked before a pleasant, honest smile curved her lips, one he found as enchanting as always. "You."

"You avoided the opportunity."

"That wasn't the same. You haven't explained that yet either. You weren't being yourself…" He was not. He lost complete control, and much like the last time it happened, he killed another one of his kin. There was no doubt his father will be beyond furious. And as if she read his thoughts, "I'm worried your father will be angry with you. It is my fault that-"

"It was _my_ decision." It is always harder to control the beast when your thoughts and desires align perfectly with it, and he had wanted nothing more than to rip out his irrelevant cousin's throat for trying to pursue his ward.

_Ward._

He scoffed at his own phrasing. They were far past that.

She gave him a skeptical look, "Was _after_ your decision too? It didn't sound like it was…"

He concluded that perhaps some transparency would not kill him. "There is a 'beast' that resides in the minds of all youkai. It is an accumulation of all of our base instincts. The more powerful one becomes, the more mental fortitude they need to keep it at bay. That is who you spoke to earlier."

"Then it is a legitimate part of you…" He felt her fingers absently playing with his hair as her mind worked through the new information. "Instinctively-speaking, it would be normal that your beast would want to have sex with a willing female even if she is not to your liking? Spread the seed and all that?"

"Normally, yes."

Rin frowned and this time pulled completely away from him. "I … I'm sorry."

Sesshomaru raised a brow, "What are you apologizing for?"

"As I said, I didn't mean to take advantage. If I had known, I wouldn't have been pushing so hard…"

He was torn between feeling insulted that she thought him so feeble against his instincts, or touched by her consideration. He could handle the former far better. "This Sesshomaru is not so weak as to give in to his beast's every whim." A slight flaw in her conclusion earlier still bothered him, and he aimed to correct it. "My family, and certain others, their beasts are not so blind. They do not rut with just anyone."

"So you're _both_ picky." She joked, and she touched him again, tucking a lock of his hair behind his pointed ear. When had he allowed her touch so freely? It neither irritated or insulted him anymore as if it was natural. "You keep it controlled all the time, don't you? Then..." He saw a sparkle in her eyes, "What made you give in?" Perhaps transparency was going to kill him. "... Is this Rin 'to your liking', Sesshomaru?"

"You are…" He could not end it like that. "...not terrible."

Rin smiled, her shoulders began to shake before she laughed, a sound that ringed pleasantly in his sensitive ears. "I guess that will do _for now_."

"For now?" But she only replied with a mischievous grin, before looking around the clearing and changing the subject.

"Are we staying here?"

"Hn."

As he had done for the last three nights, Sesshomaru watched her set up her campfire and her sleeping bag. This time he sat at the base of a tree edging the clearing as she hummed softly while she cut up an orange, knelt by the fire. The woman only had fruit to eat the entire day, and he pondered if he should hunt for her. _Ridiculous_. He thought as he shut his eyes. Once was more than enough.

Sesshomaru was able to tune her out and concentrate on his mediation for the first time in what felt like years. He hadn't realized how much time had passed. By the time he opened his eyes again, the fire was out, and Rin was curled up on the top of her sleeping bag with a thin blanket covering her, sleeping more far more quietly than the chilly night before. It seemed tonight would end with no further teasing from her.

And he struggled through the night with the realization of his disappointment and contemplating how deep his desire ran.

**End of Chapter 4**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might be getting a new job soon and the relief of that made me muster up some writing! Hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter~


End file.
